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Show Who Pays The Federal Payroll? By RAYMOND PITCAIRN Nationul Chairman 9cntincls of the Republic Maybe he doesn't realize it, but the average American citizen and taxpayer today is footing the bill for one of the largest payrolls in history. Moreover he is increasing it at a rate seldom, if ever, equalled in days of peace. For evidence of this, consider the growing list of Federal job-holders whose pay checks come out of taxes charged ultimately to the American citizen and worker and earner. Here are some official statistics from Washington: In June 1933, there were approximately approxi-mately 565,000 job-holders on the Federal Fed-eral payroll exclusive, of course, of the Army and Navy. By June 1934, the total had been boosted to more than CG1.090. By June 30, 1935, it had soared to a total of 717,000. The climb continued. By September of this year it had reached a peak of 794,000 all paid out of taxes. That's a lot of job-holders. There are at least ten states in the Union thai can't count as many heads in their entire population. And they are costing the taxpayers more than $100,000,000 a month. But these figures tell only half the story. Add to the list of Federal jobholders job-holders the various public employes of states, cities and smaller political divisions, di-visions, and your total will run into millions also paid out of taxes, direct and indirect, clipped from the average citizen's earnings or savings. And remember, re-member, these totals include only the regular job-holders. They don't includt the numerous relief beneficiaries. That's an entirely separate list. Expensive? Of course it's expensive! No farmer, no merchant, no industrial concern, could succeed with such padded payrolls. But in government it's different. dif-ferent. The politicians who pad the j payroll don't have to foot the bill. They leave that detail to the ppuple an-' arrange for it throug-h taxes, i That's oiie reason why, as economists ' have computed, more than 20 per cent j of our national income goes into iaxc."-i iaxc."-i national, state and local. That's what ' statisticians have in mind when I hey tell us that the citizen who ha.m't got ' a political job labors one day out of ! five to help support those who have. When realize Ui?e U'in.;.-,. a'H insist that the politicians devote t!u:n-selves t!u:n-selves to cirificncy in Roi'ernrviit, rather than pe.t'-c.-.-.asc. ar.!it! or ;;:iv' stride will have been acU.'oved tjwar.! economy and recovery. i |
